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All posts for the month May, 2012

While my blog last week was about the “Ring of Fire,” this week is about a “Ring of Honor.” Memorial Day is a time to acknowledge those who made the ultimate sacrifice on behalf of our freedom.

As I was thinking about it, an idea I had several years ago resurfaced. When I was working in local government, we like so many others do/did, celebrated the service milestones for employees who reached 1, 5, 10 years of service with our organization. We would present each of them a commemorative pin at an employee ceremony, and for those who reached 20 years, we presented them with a rather hearty group of goodies. For those who retired from our organization, we’d hold the conventional lunch and present him or her the typical watch, say our good-byes and that was that.

But it left me thinking we could do more to really distinguish those who simply showed up and put in their time for 20 or 30 years and those passionate people who chose to invest their effort with our organization for a time being, and we were a better place for having had them work with us.

While a number of sports teams will retire the number for one of their past heroes, other organizations really don’t do the equivalent. What if your organization started a “Ring of Honor” to acknowledge those dedicated folks who made a significant impact on your organization, not just for those who retire from your workplace? What if you had a special place in your offices, maybe where your governing body meets, to retire the uniform of that Police Officer or Maintenance Worker who served everyday like it was his first and last, leaving nothing to chance and committing his/her energy to making your community a better place? Money in the form of salaries and wages only go so far, and same with benefits. Right now, you have the opportunity to hit the “reset” button and establish new traditions and creating a “Ring of Honor” is the perfect launch pad.

There will be those who say “we’ll if we can’t do for everybody, we can’t do for it anybody.” Advise those people, probably from the HR Department (I’m a former HR Director, and know many terrific HR folks, but they must move past this dinosaur notion), that you can’t build something special around the lowest common denominator, and the “Ring of Honor” shall be not diluted with the peanut butter approach to employee recognition.

Today, each of us want to matter more than ever and so many people in government organizations “bring it everyday” with their heart, soul and passion and it is for those the “Ring of Honor” will be the ultimate achievement. Think about it and let’s continue our journey in getting better all the time.

Easily the most distressing statement repeated in government offices nationwide is the phrase “we’ve always done it that way.” This phrase is what we like to refer to as bureaucratic gravity and it suppresses change and strangles innovation in any organization! Change and innovation are siblings, twins really, and are so intertwined that when executed effectively they provide a powerful one-two punch to knockout the status quo.

Insulated from external forces, government at all levels must remain vigilant in raising the collective self-awareness of what’s working and what’s not working within their organization. Adjusting the thermostat to ensure it’s not too cozy and comfortable is essential to staying poised in an effort to continually improve. If not, complacency takes root and inertia follows which can create an intolerable and destructive dis-functionality undermining public credibility.

The “new normal” for government, places a scrutiny that is far greater than what we’ve seen in the past. Consequently, staying relevant as a community asset, while serving as that protagonist for a high quality of life, must become a key area of focus for government leaders.

With summer just around the corner, here’s our suggested workout routine to help you and your organization get way past “we’ve always done it that way” and accelerate positive change:

Create a Workout Plan – We bring together leaders, both elected and appointed, to hit the reset button and craft a cohesive and compelling strategy comprised of agreed-upon priorities, action steps and timetable to monitor progress. These can involve intense thought-provoking exchanges of ideas by passionate people, which is exactly what’s needed right now. The outcome unifies effort and creates a shared understanding about what services and programs are a must for any government organization.

Enlist Partners – It has been proven that in order to get in shape and stay in shape, you need to have a partner to help you stay motivated! Times are rough and it’s the new norm to expect turbulent times in the workplace. Often times, turbulence brings excitement and that excitement can be the perfect ingredient for positive change. Grab that excitement, enthusiasm and energy – bottle it if you have to, but leverage it – remember people of all ages are downright insatiable searching for inspiration so they can believe in something and to commit their energy. Spend less time trying to convert people and more time giving the rest of your workforce reasons to believe the future is bright. Our team helps catalyze the energy and commitment of workforce members and help them realize that change can happen in an instant and it should happen instantly every day.

Buy Good Equipment. – You might get a charge from buying the most expensive bike on the rack, but it won’t necessarily help you pedal faster. Good leaders understand that “form follows function” and recognize that simply moving boxes on an organizational chart will not result in improved performance. Work to determine what services a particular department should provide before reorganizing its staff members. With a clear focus, high performers will be unleashed.

Hit the Gym – Exercise your mind and keep it moist by visiting an intellectual buffet of new ideas. Take a field trip with your staff and explore the arts. The world of art is incredibly provocative as it challenges our assumptions and inevitably illuminates our perspective. Attend a webinar and hear about leading-edge solutions designed to accelerate change. Our R.A.P.I.D. Innovation training workshop (http://www.gettingbetterallthetime.com/training_details#rapid is a powerful workout at the mental gym fortifying the innovation muscles your workforce members need.

Summer is the perfect time to sharpen your skills and we look forward to the possibility of helping you to implement a practical and powerful workout plan to shatter “we’ve always done it that way” and replace it with a “new way of doing it.”

In Raleigh, Patrick served on a panel with James Trogdon, Chief Operating Officer, North Carolina Department of Transportation, John Turcotte, Director, Program Evaluation Division, North Carolina General Assembly and Jonathan Womer, State Chief Information Officer, to explore the benefits of implementing meaningful performance measures. Government agencies tend to over-rely on inputs and outputs and minimize the importance of public perceptions as a valid gauge of success. The panel discussed ways to create and implement an effective “dashboard” that measures services and outcomes that directly relate to an organization’s mission and purpose.

San Antonio was a terrific host for the International Hispanic Network Conference http://visitsanantonio.com/ihn2012/agenda/index.aspx. The Mejorando Group was a sponsor and Patrick Ibarra moderated a panel on the ups, downs and in-betweens of serving in public management. Panelists shared light-hearted moments along with practical tips through the use of powerful storytelling.

In Alameda, California, The Mejorando Group partnered with Mike Pucci, Executive Director of the Alameda Housing Authority (AHA) http://www.alamedahsg.org/ for a one-day “Advance Meeting” During the one day we spent together, we explored the benefits of pursuing a rebranding campaign, targeted actions to strengthen the workplace culture, reviewing financial and budgetary matters, and methods to cultivate relationships with key City staff members.

Where’s the crossover?

Whether your government is working on an area as significant as these agencies are, or searching for a method to optimize employee performance and communication, it all starts the same way. The key to success is to determine where you are and where you want to be. Set your goals. Make your plan. And strategically execute!

Need help with putting a plan together? We’d be pleased to help! Call us at (925) 518-0187 or send us an email at patrick@gettingbetterallthetime.com and we’ll help you continue the journey to “get better all the time.”

If you are a member of a Conference Planning Committee, consider Patrick Ibarra as a speaker. He receives rave reviews for his high-energy delivery style and his ability to share timely and practical tools audience members can immediately use. Please visit http://www.gettingbetterallthetime.com/keynotes for more information.

Does your organization suffer from the “Grocery Cart Leadership” phenomenon? You know, when aspiring and existing leaders place choose only those activities he/she is most comfortable with as it relates to improving their capabilities? These people tend to engage in a steady diet of their favorite foods. This approach can work, but not when an organization needs to focus on organizational success! When it’s time to diversify your palate in order to reach new levels of success, consider these steps:

Conduct 360-degree Assessments and Customized Training and Development Plans – Assessment are essential because they provide employees an in-depth understanding of where they are now: what their current strengths are, the level of their current leadership effectiveness, and what are seen as primary development needs. In the context of their everyday work, people may not be aware of the degree to which their usual behaviors or actions are effective. Translating the 360-degree feedback into a focused Training and Development Plan is essential for improvement. Patrick Ibarra is certified by the Center for Creative Leadership (CCL) in their extensive inventory of 360-degree and performance support instruments and processes. His certification enables him to conduct various assessment instruments/processes essential to developing leaders.

Deliver Competency-Based Training Workshops. Employees love to learn and our “instructor-led, participant centered” approach to training limits lecture and focuses on using a variety of instructional methods (e.g. discussions, video-clips, case studies, small group exercises, handouts to complete, skill-practices, and group discussions) to maximize the use of Adult Learning. Our training workshops (http://www.gettingbetterallthetime.com/training) are designed to help participants master the knowledge, skills and behaviors emphasized in the training program and to apply them to their day-to-day activities. We build in methods to transfer the training and new behaviors out into the workplace, through the use of action planning, and examples and exercises from participants’ work/life. From how to lead change more effectively, to tools that accelerate innovation, to tactics which optimize employee performance, our workshops get results that can be seen by all the employees in your organization.

Provide Coaching to ensure Success. We blend our extensive background in the public sector and in-depth expertise about employee performance to provide powerful and contextual advice, guidance and support enabling the employee to raise their confidence and accelerate their performance.

In summary, we invest time and energy in the kitchen – cutting, mixing, blending and tasting – so our team understands how to create appealing entrees so front-line supervisors, mid-managers, and top executives can get the tools they need to maximize the efficiency of their organization!

Is your Ring of Fire closer to the Johnny Cash song, or the Solar Eclipse which occurred on Sunday evening? Here in Arizona, we had an amazing look at this infrequent occurrence, and I began thinking, “Ring of Fire, wow that sounds like the world many of the people I know serving in government are living in!”

We’re living in a time where there is an unprecedented level of scrutiny being focused on the role of government, salaries and pensions for public sector employees, and the caliber of elected officials, to name just a few. Now you don’t have to be an astronomer to know you shouldn’t stare at the sun, especially during an eclipse, but it’s so darn fascinating it’s difficult to resist! Same goes for what’s going on with the Ring of Fire surrounding government. First, this will be a prolonged eclipse, so get used to it. The attention applied to government at all levels throughout our nation is in hyper-drive (do people still use that term?) and in a way, that’s good. All of us should take notice more of what’s going on with our communities, regions, state and national issues.

Here in Glendale, Arizona, our city has a $30 million shortfall in next year’s General Fund budget and after having spoken with three of our Councilmembers, they’re exhausted dealing with a situation they estimate should have never occurred. Second, take note, elected officials throughout the U.S. are being extra vigilant about where budget dollars are being spent and questioning even the most ordinary of expenses necessary to operate their organization. Between the media – conventional (i.e. old) and emerging (i.e. new ala bloggers and social media) – rings of fire have been created and continue to burn all around government. What is most distressing to me is how many government leaders – elected and appointed, seasoned veterans from the trenches of democracy with the wounds to show from engaging in a contact sport – are in denial about how best to use social media to counter trends and combat the naysayers in their community. They over-rely on the legal opinions advising them what they can and cannot do, and it turns into a endless-loop of wait and see what the courts say before we proceed.

WHAT?!?!?!

You don’t have time to wait any longer! Public opinion is being shaped hourly and government leaders are too comfortable standing on the sidelines, whining about how the public just doesn’t understand this, that, and the other.

The Mejorando Group actively works with leaders at all levels helping them accelerate their comfort with the power and purpose behind social media and how to optimize it to strengthen their brand. This approach is way more than simply the role of a traditional Public Information Officer or the Press Office. This is a digital world we live in, and if you’re not out front advocating then you’re behind apologizing. So ponder the Ring of Fire encompassing your world, decide right now what you intend to do to convert the fire into fuel, and let’s continue our journey of getting better all the time.

Assembling puzzles, large and small, can be fun, agonizing, time-consuming and exhilarating all at the same time. Anybody can find the corners and edges to a puzzle, but those middle pieces sure can be difficult. Ever try assembling a 1,000 piece puzzle of the Grand Canyon? Whew, it was grueling!

Now transition to your role in your workplace – you serve as a Puzzle Architect, of sorts. You’re responsible for converging the pieces – strategy, people and processes – so they create a unified approach to optimum organizational performance. And you do this often without the benefit of the cover of the puzzle box, right?

We live and work in times where we don’t simply add water and voila, the cake is baked and looks exactly like the cover of the box, do we? Hardly! The Mejorando Group serves as puzzle assembly consultants, partnering with progressive leaders all around the country, helping ensure the puzzle pieces fit well together so they’re synchronized and performance is unleashed.

So many times, leaders and managers fall for conventional wisdom and over-rely on another in a series of re-organizations (i.e. moving around the puzzle pieces), only to discover the reorganization actually made things worse! Instead what we advocate is for these leaders to pursue a collaborative and inclusive approach, engaging their elected officials, workforce and community members to create a shared understanding about the “puzzle box cover” and then, determine how those puzzle pieces should be assembled to make progress.

We’re all aware of the term ’round peg into a square hole’ which is precisely what puzzle assembly is about. So, time to sharpen your puzzle assembly skills and let’s continue our journey in getting better all the time.

The term “buy-in” has been used so often that people’s eyes often glaze over with bewilderment (or is that fatigue?) when they hear it. Leaders like to use it as a form of selling new ideas, expecting that workforce members will buy what they’re selling, and consequently, will be more energized to the execution of whatever that idea is. When leaders and managers seek a steady diet of compliance from the workforce, they value obedience more than anything else, supporting the claim that success is derived from a compliant workforce. Or, consider for a second – would you and your organization be more successful if your employees were more motivated, connected, aware, passionate and genuine? You can’t have both, of course.

I want to offer you a slightly different twist to the term “buy in,” how about “get in” instead? Enlisting people in a new initiative is not exactly an efficient process, is it? We understand that “participation breeds commitment” but operationalizing it requires time and patience, neither of which we seem to have an abundance of anymore. It sounds so simple, let’s be efficient and effective, okay…but sometimes these two principles are on a collision course, especially where it involves your workforce. Building and sustaining effective working relationships is not an efficient process – investing time, your most precious commodity, with other people, requires a level of self-awareness that each of us can have a positive effect on others, and in turn they can provide us the same nutrients. I’m not advocating the wasting of time with your people, as though spending more time generates a better outcome. Instead, I’m suggesting that being mindful and selective to create and foster a workplace culture where people are valued proves beneficial in both the short- and long-term, especially as it concerns involving them in helping navigate a course during these uncertain times we’re living and working in. We don’t need any more empirical research to convince us that inspiring people unleashes their commitment, which in turn, is fundamental to success. We must realize that being genuine with people is crucial to building trust and trust is the currency we exchange with others.

Our team works with organizational leaders at all levels providing coaching services – sharing our insight, experience and expertise – helping them resolve their blind spots, raise their capabilities and improve their leadership effectiveness. Contact us at www.gettingbetterallthetime.com so we can share how we can help you and your organization obtain more “get in” from your workforce members and continue the journey of getting better all the time.